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Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 26 • 14 tweets • 5 min read Twitter logo

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Zotero is the best citation and reference management app.

It's totally free.

But many folks don't know how to use it.

Here's a tutorial on how to automate your citations and references with Zotero:

1. Go to zotero(dot)org.

Download "Zotero 6" and install the app on your computer.

2. You will also need to install the Zotero Connector. It will connect your Zotero desktop app with your browser.

Click on "Install Chrome Connector" and add it to your browser.

Once it's added. click on the puzzle-like icon and pin the Zotero Connector to your browser.

3. You will also need to create a Zotero account. Click on "Log In" and then "Register for a free account."

This will give you an online backup of your Zotero library.

4. Open your Zotero desktop app.

Click on "File" and select "New Collection."

Choose a name for your collection.

5. Go to Google Scholar or Pubmed or your university's online library and look up articles using keywords.

You will get a list of relevant search results.

Click on the Zoteor Connector in the top-right corner and it will open an Item Select.

Select the articles/books you think are relevant to your project and click "OK."

Zotero will save these items in the collection you just created.

Go to your Zotero and you will all the items in the collection.

Zotero will automatically retrieve open access PDFs of articles.

If you are signed in to your univeristy's library, it will also access paywalled articles and add them to your collection.

6. You can also items manually. To do so, simply drag and drop PDFs in your collection.

Zotero will retrieve their metadata and add it to your collection.

7. You can read an article in Zotero and also take notes on it.

Double-click the article you want to read and Zotero will open it for you.

You can highlight and annotate the article. You can also write lengthy notes in Zotero's Note Editor.

Want to learn how to supercharge your academic writing with AI apps?

I have a complete tutorial for you.

4,300+ academics including those at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale are using it.

You can get it here👇
efficientacademicwriter.carrd.co

8. Open your MS Word and start drafting your paper.

To add a citation, place the cursor where you want to add it. Open the Zotero tab and click on "Add/Edit Citation."

Zotero will open a red search bar for you. Type in the name of the author you want to cite and Zotero will prepare the citation for you.

You can add the page number if you want to.

9. Zotero is also available for Google Docs.

The interface is a little different than MS Word but the functionality is the same.

10. Once you are done drafting, place the cursor where you want to add your bibliography.

Then click on "Add/Edit Bibliography" and Zotero will add the properly formatted bibliography for you.

Found this thread on Zotero helpful?

1. Scroll to the top and hit Like on the first tweet.

2. Bookmark it so you can come back to it later.

3. Follow me for more threads on academic writing.

Want me to email you tips on academic writing?

Sign up for my newsletter. It's FREE!

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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 25

Sci Hub is a "pirate" website with 88M research papers freely available.

Using it is not advisable. We should all try to make billion-dollar acdemic publishers richer.

Here's a thread on integrating Zotero with Sci Hub to get free articles.

PLEASE DON'T DO THIS 😉

1. Don't go to this link:

github(dot)com/ethanwillis/zotero-scihub/releases

But if you want to, please change the spelled word "dot" with an actual dot.

Once the link opens, don't click on zotero-scihub file. This will download an xpi (pronounced "zippy") file to your computer.

2. Don't open your Zotero but if you do, click on "Tools."

In "Tools" menu, click on "Add-ons." Zotero wil open its Add-on Manager for you.

Click on the gear-like icon in the top-right corner and then select "Install Add-on From File."

Now navigate to the xpi file that you just downloaded and open it.

This will install the Sci Hub add-on in your Zotero. You shouldn't have done this.

Read 8 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 25

Not many people are paying attention to Google Bard, but it's quickly becoming a very efficient tool.

It can access and summarize your emails and documents in your Google Drive. It's also intergrated with YouTube now.

Here's how to use it to get the best possible results:

1. Go to and click on the puzzle-like icon in the top-right corner. This will open Bard Extensions for you.

Enable Google Workspace. This will connect Bard with your Gmail and Google Drive.bard.google.com

2. In the chat bar, ask Bard to give you a summary of emails sent to you by one of your contacts.

To get the best results, mention the word "email" in your prompt. If you don't mention it, sometimes Bard says it can't access your emails.

This is a great feature that will save you a lot of time.

Read 7 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 24

Presentations — every academic has to give them and nobody likes preparing them.

ChatGPT can help you prepare a presentation in minutes. This will save you a lot of time and labor.

Here's how to do it:

1. Open ChatGPT. Click on the paper clip icon in the chat bar and upload the material that you want to present.

Here I am uploading a draft of a paper that I am working on.

Once uploaded, use the following prompt.

This is a draft of my article. I have to give a presentation based on this article. Please summarize this article for a 10-slide presentation with headings and subheadings.

ChatGPT will summarize the draft with headings and subheadings.

2. Next, you will need to enable the Slide Maker plugin.

Click on your profile photo in the bottom-left corner and select "Settings & Beta." Go to Beat Features and enable Plugins.

Click on ChatGPT4 in the top-left corner and select Plugins.

Open the Plugin store and look a plugin called "Slide Maker." Install the plugin.

Read 7 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 23

So you downloaded a bunch of research papers for your literature review.

How would you find out what these papers have to say about a certain topic X?

One way is to read them all. This would take a lot of time.

Here's how AI can help you figure it out in a fraction of time:

1. Go to humata(dot)ai and sign up for an account.

Next, click on "Add folder" and choose a name for your folder. Then open this empty folder.

Now drag and drop all the papers that you downloaded in this empty folder.

2. Click on "Ask All" in the top-right corner. Humata will open a chat box for you.

In the chat bar, write the following prompt:

"What do these papers have to say about [topic X]?"

Humata will go over all the papers and tell you which papers have discussed the given topic.

Instead of spending time on all the papers, now you can focus on reading the papers Humata suggests.

Read 8 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 22

Worried about fake citations generated by ChatGPT?

Consensus has designed a custom GPT especially for researchers.

It has access to 200 million research papers and answers your questions with references to published papers.

No more fake citations.

Here's how to use it:

1. Click the link below:

This will open Consensus's ResearchGPT. Please note you will need access to GPT-4 to use this.

Now simply type in your question and ResearchGPT will answer it with references to (real)published paper. All the references it cites are clickable.

If you find a paper useful, click on it and Consensus will give you its abstract.

Consensus will also give you a Study Snapshot with details about population, sample, methods, and outcomes of a paper.chat.openai.com/g/g-bo0FiWLY7-…

2. ResearchGPT answers your questions across multiple disciplines and fields.

Here I am asking ResearchGPT a question about literary studies.

Read 6 tweets

Mushtaq Bilal, PhD

@MushtaqBilalPhD

Nov 20

One of the reasons journal articles get rejected: poor language and grammar.

Trinka is an AI-powered tool that will help you edit and proofread your work — in minutes.

Think of it as Grammarly but designed especially for academic writing.

Here's how to use it:

1. Go to and register for a free account.trinka.ai

2. Once you have logged in to your Trinka account, this is how your screen would look like.

Click on "New File." Choose a name for your document and select "Academic Writing."

You can also mention your subject area and the type of paper you want to edit/proofread.

Save your preferences and paste the text of your article you want to edit/proofread.

Trinka will give you suggestions for editing and proofreading. To accept a suggestion simply click on it.

Not all suggestions would be equally useful. You can simpy ignore the suggestions you don't find helpful.